Field Trips & Tours
Visitors are welcome to come out and enjoy the farm anytime during normal business hours. This is a self-guided endeavor, but if you’d like a more in-depth look at the farm guided by staff, we offer several tour options.
Dedicated to fostering a deep curiosity about the food we eat, the environment, and how it all works together.
We are passionate about farming and we love to share stories and knowledge with the community. We invite you to come and experience agriculture by learning the history, asking plenty of questions, and discovering how important sustainable farming is to our future.
Public Tours
Throughout warm season months, we offer both self-guided and staff-guided tours. Self-guided tours welcome you to roam about the property freely, staff-guided tours will offer an in-depth history and educationally immersive walking experience.
Self Guided
Our farm is open daily from 10am to 6pm, with lunch being served 11am-4pm. We invite you to stop on by and enjoy the beautiful scenery, visit the animals, and shop the farm store. There is no charge to explore the barnyard and environs (except during our fall festival, September–November).
We do offer private use of the farm for special occasions, so be sure to check here for farm closures. And click here if you’re interested in hosting a private event of your own at the farm!
Staff Guided Tour
This tour goes exploring through our 80 acres of working farmland. Head to the top of UFO hill for a spectacular view, walk alongside the creek through old forest, see the grazing animals on pasture, and learn about regenerative agriculture. You will get an overview of our farm history and current farming practices. We will be traversing through tall grasses, so suitable boots are suggested.
COST
Adults: $12
Youth (Age 6-17): $8
Children (Under 6): Free
Book This Tour Online
Top-Tier Tour
Start at 4pm with an in-depth tour of the farm, exploring our history and agricultural model, along with a meet-and-greet of our farm animals. Choose the standard top-tier tour, or upgrade to a horseback ride for an authentic farm experience. Immediately following the tour, your group will be treated to a plated farm-to-fork meal prepared by our expert catering chef, including an adult beverage of your choice. Finish the day with engaging conversations and gorgeous long-range views as the sun sets.
Time: 4pm-6:30pm
Guests: Minimum 4, Maximum 12
Cost: $100 per person (minimum $400)
Optional: additional $50 per person for horseback riding
Book This Tour Online
Exploring Appalachia Day Trip
Discover the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains, both wild and rural. Your day begins with the expansive views of Chimney Rock State Park where your group is welcome to enjoy one of the many leisurely or intensive hiking trails on the property. Lunch at the award-winning Old Rock Cafe is included with this package anytime after 11am. At 2pm, join the park’s animal educators for the Animal Encounter, an interactive experience where you can touch, feel, and learn about the wildlife at the park. After meeting the animals of the wild, your group will drive an easy 20 minutes north up 74A for the evening portion of your day trip.
Starting at 4pm, your evening begins with an in-depth tour of Hickory Nut Gap Farm and an overview of its history and agricultural model, along with a meet-and-greet of our farm animals. Choose our standard top-tier tour or upgrade to a horseback ride for an authentic farm experience. Immediately following the tour, your group will be treated to a plated farm-to-fork meal prepared by our expert catering chef including an adult beverage of your choice. Finish the day with engaging conversations and gorgeous long-range views as the sun sets.
Time: 8:30am-6:30pm
Guests: Minimum 4, Maximum 12
Cost: $130 per person (minimum $520)
Optional: additional $50 per person for tour on horseback at HNG
Book This Tour Online
Farmer-Led Private Tour
Our farmer-led private tours present an in-depth view of the farming systems and philosophy of Hickory Nut Gap Farm—perfect for those choosing agriculture as a potential future endeavor, looking for some fresh ideas, or just curious about the local farm scene in Western North Carolina.
This is a 1.5-hour walking tour with a senior member of our farm crew.
Cost
$200 (minimum) for a group of 10 or fewer, plus $20 for each additional person. Children under 6 are free.
Scheduling
Availability varies based on our seasonal farming schedule.
Request a Farmer-Led Private Tour
Staff-Led Private Tour
For those interested in a broader overview of farm practices, including the bigger philosophies and ecology behind them, plus local history and other topics; this fun, digestible private tour is a big hit for families, friend groups, and anyone who can’t make it to the farm for our Saturday public walking tour. Finish off with lunch, ice cream, and a cold beverage from the farm store to make a day of it, and don’t forget to whiz down the culvert slides and wade in the creek—fun for children of all ages!
Cost
$150 (minimum) for a group of 10 or fewer, plus $15 for each additional person. Children under 6 are free.
Request a Staff-Led-Private Tour
School Field Trips
Hickory Nut Gap Farm offers tours year-round to school groups ranging from preschool to college-aged students.* Experience the farm with a 1-hour guided tour including animals, fruits, and bees with grade-level-appropriate topics and activities. Tour content can be modified to meet your individual curriculum needs.
The kids loved hearing about the baby farm animals. Their eyes lit up when they each got to hold a baby chick. What a great experience.
Use our online booking request tool (button below) to book a field trip. Contact Megan Auten with any questions. *Do you have an adult special-needs group? Get in touch with Megan to discuss a custom field trip.
What to Expect
Your class will orient with their guide(s) on safety, what to expect that day, and why they are there. They’ll learn about pollination and tour the berry fields, apple orchard, and animal pastures. Our animals are grazed rotationally, and students will get to see several animals up-close or in pasture!
Please let us know if you would like us to tailor the tour content to a specific area of study. Your guide will get the students participating in several games and activities throughout the tour to keep them engaged, and we will have several water stations throughout the property so everyone stays hydrated.
Cancellation
Canceled field trips forfeit their deposit.
We will run your field trip rain or shine, so dress accordingly! Be sure to check the weather the day before and plan appropriately: bug spray, sunscreen, hats, rain slickers, warm sweaters, and GOOD SHOES! We’ll be walking all over the grounds. Open-toed shoes are not advised, and remember the grass is wet in the mornings, even if it hasn’t rained!
What to Bring
To make the most of your visit, we suggest having the following items:
- Sunscreen
- Water bottles
- Comfortable shoes and and weather appropriate clothing for the day’s forecast
- Bagged lunches
- Any necessary allergy medication for bees or animals
- Field trip admission fee
- Hand sanitizer to use after handling animals
Additional Tips
Some Other Things to Make Your Trip Great
- Please provide name tags to all adults, chaperones, bus drivers, and teachers with your trip to help your guide communicate with you.
- Please be respectful around our animals. Your tour guide will provide great information and rules regarding what is allowed when interacting with the animals.
- We ask that children be supervised at all times and that children stay with their designated chaperone.
- Both bus and vehicle parking will be in the lower lot.
- Please pay for your tour upon arrival.
Cost
$7.50 per student
Teachers, bus drivers, and chaperones are free.
Groups of 40 or more students will be split up into smaller groups, each with their own guide, to ensure everyone has a great experience.
Scheduling
Field trips can be scheduled on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Available time slots for the structured portion of your field trip are 10am–11am and 10:30am–11:30am. After the tour, students are welcome to stay and enjoy the climbing web, tunnel slides, and creek, and eat their lunches in one of our picnic areas. During the fall, there are additional attractions, including a nature trail, hay bales, and a corn pit. Your group is welcome to stay for the duration of the day until the close of business.